Acetylene-gas generator



L. s. BUFFINGTON.

ACE'TYLvENE GAS GENERATOR.

(Appumein med :rune 24, 1s97.\ (No Model.)

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LEROY S. BUFFINGTON, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 614,439, dated November 22, 1898.

Application filed .Tune 24, 1897. Serial No. 642,053. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t Wmg/ concern:

Be it known that I, LEROY S. BUFFINGTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene-Gas Generators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention has for its object to provide an improved apparatus especially adapted to control the generation of acetylene gas Jfrom calcium carbid and water.

To this end my invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described, and defined in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like notations refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a view principally in side elevation, but with some parts shown in vertical section and others broken away for better illustrating the construction. Fig. 2 is a hori zontal section through the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 on the line :c2 ft2; and Fig. 3 is a detail principally in vertical section, but with some parts shown in full, illustrating the valve device which is employed to control the supply of water to the carbid.

In the construction shown I employ an eX- pansible storage-gasometer involving, preferably, a fixed section a, containing a column a', the lower open end of which is submerged in and sealed by said column of water e. Cooling vessels l) are secured to the exteriors of the tank-sections d, near the tops thereof. These cooling vessels b are adapted to contain a column of cooling-water a", and each is provided with a condensing-coil b', which is submerged in said cooling-water e. The upper ends of the coils b are in communication with the interiors of the storage-gasometers of the particular apparatus through gas-conveying pipes b2, the delivery ends ot' which terminate within said storage-gasometers above the level of the column of water therein contained. The lower and receiving ends of the coils b are in communication with the interiors of the respective generating chambers or vessels, to be presently described, through pipesections b3, provided with valves b4, and opening at their lower ends through the top plates f of said generating-chambers.

The bottom or lower ends of the cooling vessels b are in communication with the interiors ot' the respective generating-chambers through pipe-sections g, which are connected by valve-seat castings g'. These valve-seat castings g are provided with suitable valveseats, in which rotary valves or stop-cocks g2 work with freedom for pivotal movement. The valves g2 are provided with transverse slits or perforations g3, the extremities of which are adapted to be brought into registration with narrow ports g4, which lead from the valve-seat, one to each of the pipe-sections c, as-shown in Fig. 3. The valve or stop-cock g2 is in the said construction provided with a lever or arm g5, one end of' which is in turn provided with a weight Q6 and the other end of which `is perforated so as to pass a cord or light connection 7s, the upper end of which is secured to the movable gasometer-section ci. At its lower end the cord or connection 7.5 is provided with a weight k and above the lever or valve arm g5 with an adjustable stop k2. The operation of this valve device will be given later on.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. l and 2 the fixed head-section f is shown as provided with a pair of depending fianges f7, which in cross-section form a rectangle. The removable section of the generating receptacle or vessel is in the form of a rectangular box fs, which is adapted to telescope between the fianges f T. Said removable section f8 is shown as detachably secured to the outer flange f7 by means of spring-latches fJ, secured on said flange and engageable with the projecting bottom of said removable section f8. The carbid-holder shown in this construction is in the form of a wheel flo, loosely mounted on a stud fn, which projects from the inner wall of the inner member of the flanges f7. The periphery of this wheel f10 is formed with an annular series of carbid boxes or cells f 12, which, taken together, make up an annularreceptacle. The partitions f1.3,

which separate the cells f 12, are of imperforate material, While both the inner and outer.

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cylindrical surfaces of said cells are formed of perforated material. An annular side piece f, which is removably secured in place by suitable catches f, when removed gives ready access to the said cells. e4 indicates carbid contained in the cells fm. In connection with this construction the inner or lower end of the pipe-section g is provided with a nozzie-section fl", which is swiveled thereto at f and is adapted to be turned with its free end in position to discharge into the interior of the annular vessel formed by the series of carbid-cells f1?, as illustrated by full lines in Figs. l and 2. The said nozzle-section f1 is adapted to be turned into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, so as to permit the carbid-wheel to be removed and the cells to be recharged with carbid.

,z5 indicates water or other liquid contained in the bottom of the generator-section f8 and serving asa seal between the sides thereof and the depending iianges f7.

In the construction shown in Figs. l and 2, p, p', p2, and p3 indicate safety or gas-escape pipes, which are carried by the movable gasometer-section ct and are, under the normal action of the apparatus, submerged at their lower ends in the water z. Of the said pipes p p 192193 the member p is the shortest, and the members 2911192193 are successively longer and are submerged at their lower ends successively to greater depths in the said liquid z. The pipe-sections p, p', and p2 are provided with burners p4 at their upper or outer ends, which burners are located in such close proximity to each other that the flame from one of the jets will ignite the gas escaping from the adjacent burner. The pipe p is in communication with the upper end or extremity of the movable gasometersection through an elbow-pipe p5, provided with a valve p6. The upper end of the pipe p3 is shown as provided with a valve p7 and with a iiexible extension p8, which leads to some suitable point of exhaust.

The operation of the device above described is substantially as follows: The valve g2 is normally held closed by the weight or counterpoise gG, as indicated by full lines in Figs. l and 2. "Vhen the gas contained in the storage-gasometer is drawn off and the volume thereof reduced, the movable gasom etersection Ct will lower until the stop 71:2 on the connection 7.: strikes the free end of the valvelever g5 and permits the weight 71; to become effective to throw the valve and arm into the position indicated by broken dotted lines in Fig. 3. In this intermediate position of the valve g2 and its arm the valve slit or passage g3 is turned into registration with the ports g4, thus permitting water to flow through the pipe-sections g and nozzle-sections at the delivery end thereof onto the carbid within the carbid-holder. This will of course cause a generation of additional acetylene gas, which will nd its way through the connections described into the gasometer and cause the movable gasometer-section ct to again risc and permit the weight g6 to throw the valve g2 back into its normal closed position, and thereby stop the further generation of gas for the time being. If, however, the generating action is not quickly started by the introduction of water while the valve g2 is in its open position, the movable gasometer-section will continue to lower beyond the position in which it causes the opening in said valve, and this excessive downward movement of the movable gasometer-section will permit the weight 7c to move the valve g and its arm g5 into an extreme position. (Indicated by dotted lines in Figs. l and 3.) In this position the valve g2 will, however, he closed. `It will thus be seen that with this construction an extremely large amount of water can in no case or at no one time be discharged onto the carbid. If the action just described should take place, it would only be a matter of a short time when the small amount of water introduced onto the carbid would cause the intended generation of gas, which generation would, of course, cause the movable gasometer-section to again move upward.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. l and 2 the water will be discharged from the lower end of the nozzle-section f16 onto the contents or carbid contained in the cell adjacent thereto. As the contents of the first cell are decomposed the load of the cell becomes heavier by the increasing bulk of the solid products of decomposition. This will cause the loose wheel or carbid-holder to revolve, so that one cell after another will be automatically brought opposite the discharge end of the said nozzle.

The gas which passes from the generating chamber or vessel before reaching the storage gasorneter or the service pipe passes through the condensingcoil b', under the cooling action of which all of the water or liquid vapors of the gas are condensed and precipitated and will run back into the generating-receptacle.

Vith the construction illustrated in Figs. l and 2 the burner p4 of the pipe g should be kept lighted and a small amount of gas applied thereto through the valved elbow-pipe p5. In case of an accidental overgeneration of gas sufficient to raise the lower ends of the pipes p and p above the level of the water a' gas will of course escape through said pipes and through the burner of the pipe p', as well as through the pipe p and its burner. The flame from the first burner will, as has already been indicated, light the second, and in case the lower end of the pipe p2 is raised above the water the flame from the pipe p will light the flame from the burner of the pipe p2. If the movable gasometer was raised still higher, so that the lower end of the pipe p3 is raised above the water, the gas may then escape through said pipe and its iiexible extension p8. Obviously a greater or less number of these safety escape-pipes may be provided.

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this flame will of course be increased whenever the open lower end of the same is raised above the water, by which it is ordinarily sealed.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

l. 'In an expansible gasometer, the combination with the movable section thereof, of a series of escape pipes of different lengths opening to the atmosphere and normally submerged and sealed by liquid contained in said gasometer and adapted to be moved into unsealed positions, in succession, by the expanding movement of said movable gasometer-section, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In an eXpansible gasometer, the combination with the movable section thereof, of a burner-equipped escape-pipe provided With a capillary by-path opening into the gasometer, and having its lower open end normally sealed by liquid contained in said gasometer, but adapted to be moved into an unsealed position by the expanding movement of said movable gasometer-section, substantially as described.

3. In a Watercontaining gasometer, the

` combination with a burner-equipped escape pipe or passage normally sealed by the liquid in said gasometer,of another burner-equipped escape pipe or passage which is normally open and the burner of which is so related to the burner of the aforenoted pipe or passage that it will serve as an igniter for the same, substantially as described.

4. In an expansible gasometer, the combination with the movable section thereof, of a series of escape-pipes provided, at their outer ends, with burners so located that the flame from one burner will light the adjacent burner, and submerged at their inner ends successively to greater depths in the sealing liquid contained in said gasometer, and a branch pipe or passage normally affording communication between the unsealed portion of the shortest member of said escape-pipes and the gas-containing chamber of said gasometer, substantially as described.

5. In a generating apparatus of the character described, the combination with the generating-chamber, of a carbid-holder located therein, consisting of a loose wheel formed with an annularly-arranged series of carbidcells, the inner and outer cylindrical surfaces of which are formed of perforate material, and y a Water-supplying device positioned to discharge onto the inner perforate cylindrical surface of said series of cells, substantially as described. p

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEROY S. BUFFINGTON.

Witnesses:

LILLIAN C. ELMORE, F. D. MERCHANT. 

